Incident Description
During landing with an approximate 50-degree crosswind from the left, with wind speeds between 6 and 17 knots, the airplane's nose landing gear contacted the runway. At that moment, the airplane began to pull to the left violently and uncontrollably for no apparent reason. The pilot applied right rudder to correct the deviation, but the airplane continued left, departing the runway onto the grass. It came to rest upright with the nose landing gear collapsed.
Investigation Findings
Examination of the runway revealed arching skid marks from the nose and right main landing gear tires. The mark from the nose landing gear tire was significantly darker compared to the right main tire mark. Additionally, damage was noted to the right side of the nose gear wheel. The right lug of the nose landing gear trunnion was found fractured; however, metallurgical examination showed no preexisting anomalies in the fracture. No discrepancies were found with the nose landing gear steering system.
Analysis and Conclusion
Mechanical and operational issues, such as rudder input, can result in the nose gear tire not being aligned with the runway at touchdown. In this incident, no determination could be made as to why the nose landing gear wheel assembly was not aligned with the runway at touchdown.